Research and articles

Research and articles

The Centre for Corporate Governance’s mission

The Centre for Corporate Governance’s mission is to use rigorous research to influence the practice of corporate governance. It provides a platform for two-way debate and the sharing of ideas between academics and practitioners.

There are two types of academic research that can inform corporate governance. The first is empirical, which uses large-scale data to guide both the diagnosis and treatment of existing practices. Views on corporate governance are sometimes shaped by a small number of high-profile anecdotes. It’s important to assess how widespread corporate governance problems are and assess the myriad potential causes before suggesting remedies. Often, proposed solutions may already be established in other countries or companies. Careful analysis of such practices, distinguishing causation from correlation, can result in them being adopted elsewhere. The second is theoretical, where a model of a firm, industry or economy allows researchers to analyse the impact of new practices – even those not currently implemented anywhere. This approach is similar to a city simulator.

It’s important to be critical of research. You can usually find “evidence” to support any viewpoint, but there is a great disparity in the rigour and quality of that evidence. Similarly, the validity of a model’s predictions depends on the realism of its assumptions. The research and articles referenced here aim to draw from the very best research, published in the most rigorous peer-reviewed journals. We include both published classics from researchers around the world and new working papers from London Business School faculty.